IRS Written Determinations
Free IRS private letter rulings, technical advice memoranda, and Chief Counsel advice with plain-English summaries and the official IRS release on every page.
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Housing issuer receives 60 days to make a late mortgage-credit election
A state-authorized housing issuer wanted to convert unused private-activity bond volume cap into authority for a mortgage credit certificate program. It had timely carried forward the volume cap for q…
Affiliated group receives 75 days to make a late consolidated-return election
A domestic parent and its affiliated corporations failed to timely elect to file a consolidated federal income tax return by filing the consolidated return by its due date. The assessment periods rema…
Loss corporation receives 75 days for a late closing-of-the-books election
A loss corporation experienced a Section 382 ownership change but missed the deadline to elect to close its books on the change date. Without that election, the regulations generally allocate change-y…
Foreign entity receives 120 days for a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be treated as disregarded from its owner for federal tax purposes but failed to timely file Form 8832. The IRS found that the entity satisfied the discretionary l…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity was classified by default as an association taxable as a corporation. Its owners did not file Form 8832 because they did not know an election was required, while the majority…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity was classified by default as an association taxable as a corporation. Its owners did not file Form 8832 because they did not know an election was required, while its majority…
Partnership receives 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A partnership intended to make a Section 754 election after a member died but inadvertently omitted a properly executed election from its return. The partnership and all affected partners filed their …
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity failed to file Form 8832 on time to elect partnership classification from a requested effective date. The IRS concluded that the entity met the standards for discretionary el…
Consolidated group receives 90 days to make a late unified-loss election
A consolidated group failed to elect under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1502-36(d)(6)(i)(A) to reduce the parent's basis in transferred loss shares of a subsidiary by the attribute-reduction amount. …
Buyer and target receive 60 days to elect the success-fee safe harbor
A corporate buyer and its acquisition target paid several success-based advisory fees in a covered transaction but did not make the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe-harbor election on their original ret…
IRS permits an entity to change classification within the 60-month limit
A single-owner limited liability company had elected corporate tax status and later underwent a complete ownership change. It wanted to elect disregarded-entity status effective on the acquisition dat…
IRS grants extra time to complete a Section 336(e) election
An individual, acting through a disregarded entity, acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders. The parties intended to make an IRC § 336(e) election so the represented qualified…
IRS grants extra time for a Section 338(h)(10) election
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders. The parties intended a joint IRC § 338(h)(10) election, which would treat the target as selling all its assets and then li…
IRS grants 60 days for two late consent-dividend elections
A corporation sought to make consent-dividend elections for two prior tax years. A consent dividend is a hypothetical distribution that consenting shareholders treat as an actual dividend and that the…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership status
A foreign eligible entity was classified by default as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. tax purposes. After its majority indirect owner became a U.S. resident, that owner began reporti…
Partnership received 120 days to make a late Section 754 election
A partnership failed to make a Section 754 election after a partner died because it was unaware of the death when it filed its return. The election would permit basis adjustments to partnership proper…
Foreign subsidiary received 60 days to make a late entity classification election
A foreign corporation wanted to elect retroactively to be treated as disregarded from its foreign parent for U.S. federal tax purposes. Without that election, an earlier contribution of assets produce…
Limited liability company received 120 days to elect corporate status
A limited liability company intended to elect to be taxed as a corporation from a specified date but inadvertently missed the deadline to file Form 8832. Its default federal tax classification was a d…
Purchaser received 75 days to make late Section 338 elections for two foreign targets
A U.S. corporation acquired all the stock of two foreign corporations and intended to make Section 338(g) elections that would treat the stock purchases as asset acquisitions for federal tax purposes.…
Buyer and seller received 75 days to make a late Section 338(h)(10) election
A corporate purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation, and the purchaser and seller intended to make a joint Section 338(h)(10) election. That election would treat the target as selling its…
Parties received 75 days to file a late Section 336(e) election statement
A partnership bought all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders, and the parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election. That election would treat the stock disposition as an asset di…
Foreign purchaser received 75 days to make a late Section 338(g) election
A foreign corporation, acting through a disregarded foreign entity, bought all the stock of another foreign corporation and intended to make a Section 338(g) election. That election would treat the st…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate asked for discreti…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate asked for discreti…
Corporation receives 60 days to perfect a late safe-harbor election for success-based fees
A corporation paid a success-based fee when it was acquired and reported the fee using the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe harbor, deducting 70 percent and capitalizing 30 percent. Its return preparer …
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate requested discreti…
Estate receives 120 days to make late QTIP elections for three marital trusts
A decedent's trust directed property into three marital trusts intended to qualify for the estate tax marital deduction. The executor hired an attorney to prepare Form 706, but the attorney omitted on…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 did not timely elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate asked the IRS for discreti…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The estate requested an extension u…
Taxpayer receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST exemption allocations for three years
A taxpayer made transfers over three years to an irrevocable trust primarily benefiting the taxpayer's spouse. The taxpayer's longtime return preparer incorrectly advised that no gift tax returns were…
Spouses receive 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocations for four GRAT transfers
A husband created and funded four grantor retained annuity trusts whose remainder interests passed to continuing trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The couple's accountant and tru…
Donor's estate and spouse receive 120 days to allocate GST exemption to a charitable remainder trust
A donor created a charitable remainder unitrust that paid a lifetime unitrust amount to a grandchild and then passed the remainder to charity. The donor and spouse elected to split the gift, but their…
Representatives receive 120 days to elect portability after the surviving spouse's death
A decedent died leaving a surviving spouse, but the decedent's estate did not file Form 706 or elect portability of the unused estate tax exclusion. The surviving spouse later died, and the spouse's c…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It requested discretionary re…
Purchaser receives 75 days to file late Section 338 elections for foreign targets
A U.S. corporation acquired all the stock of a foreign target and treated the target's foreign affiliates as deemed acquired. The purchaser intended to make Section 338(g) elections so the stock acqui…
S corporation parties receive 75 days to file a late Section 336(e) election statement
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election so…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late QTIP election for a marital trust
A joint living trust divided at the decedent's death into a survivor's trust, an exemption trust, and a marital trust. The marital trust required all net income to be paid to the surviving spouse and …
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 failed to timely elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It requested an extension under Tre…
Grantor receives 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocations to a GRAT
A grantor created and funded a grantor retained annuity trust for the grantor's spouse and two children. The trust had generation-skipping transfer tax potential, and its estate tax inclusion period l…
Spouses receive 120 days to elect out of automatic GST allocations for four GRAT transfers
A husband created four grantor retained annuity trusts whose remainder interests passed to continuing trusts with generation-skipping transfer tax potential. The couple's accountant and trusts-and-est…
Donor's estate and spouse receive 120 days to allocate GST exemption to a charitable remainder trust
A donor created a charitable remainder unitrust that paid a lifetime unitrust amount to a grandchild and then passed the remainder to charity. The donor and spouse elected to split the gift, but their…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to elect partnership classification on Form 8832
A foreign entity with multiple limited-liability owners intended to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal tax purposes from its formation date. Because all owners had limited liability, the def…
Estate receives 120 days to make a late portability election for unused estate tax exclusion
An estate that was not otherwise required to file Form 706 missed the deadline to elect portability of the decedent's unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. It requested discretionary re…
Entity receives 120 days for a late classification election, but the ruling states conflicting classifications
A domestic limited liability company intended to elect association status taxable as a corporation from its initial effective date. It later filed Form 8832 with a later effective date and then filed …
S corporation parties receive extra time to file a Section 336(e) election statement
A purchaser acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election so…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to make a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign entity with one owner intended to be treated as disregarded for U.S. federal tax purposes from the date it incorporated, but it did not timely file Form 8832. Its owner consistently reported…
Affiliated group receives 60 days to elect out of bonus depreciation
An affiliated corporate group intended to elect out of the Section 168(k) additional first-year depreciation deduction for every class of qualified property it placed in service during a taxable year.…
Corporation receives 60 days to make a late success-based fee safe-harbor election
A corporation paid a success-based advisory fee when it acquired the remaining stock of two target companies. It deducted the full fee on its return without making the Revenue Procedure 2011-29 safe-h…
Foreign entity receives 120 days to file a late disregarded-entity election
A foreign limited company eligible to choose its U.S. federal tax classification inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time to be treated as a disregarded entity from its intended date. It represe…
IRS grants extra time for Section 338(g) and QSub elections
An LLC taxed as an S corporation acquired all the stock of a target in a qualified stock purchase. It intended to make a Section 338(g) election for the acquisition and a qualified subchapter S subsid…
IRS grants foreign purchaser more time for Section 338(g) elections
A foreign purchaser acquired all the stock of a foreign target, with deemed acquisitions of several foreign target affiliates. The purchaser represented that the transaction was a qualified stock purc…
IRS permits foreign entity to change its tax classification early
A foreign entity had previously received relief to elect disregarded-entity status and later wanted to be taxed as a corporation before the usual 60-month waiting period ended. It asked the IRS for co…
IRS grants foreign entity more time to elect partnership status
A foreign entity with owners having limited liability intended to be treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes from its formation date. It failed to file Form 8832 on time because of inadverte…
IRS grants foreign entity late disregarded-entity election
A foreign eligible entity intended to be classified as a disregarded entity when its federal tax classification first became relevant. It did not file Form 8832 by the deadline and requested discretio…
IRS allows late disregarded-entity election after inadvertent filing failure
A foreign limited company intended to be treated as a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes but inadvertently failed to file Form 8832 on time. It represented that the request did not involve hi…
IRS grants foreign company late disregarded-entity election
A foreign limited company intended to elect disregarded-entity treatment for federal tax purposes but inadvertently missed the Form 8832 deadline. It represented that it acted reasonably and in good f…
IRS grants more time for Section 336(e) election statement
A partnership acquired all the stock of an S corporation from its shareholders in a transaction represented to be a qualified stock disposition. The parties intended to make a Section 336(e) election,…
IRS grants late affiliated-group election for personal service corporations
A medical-services group restructured under a new corporate parent and continued using the cash method based on qualified personal service corporation treatment. The parent intended to elect under Sec…
IRS grants foreign entity late disregarded-entity election
A foreign parent transferred ownership of a foreign entity through a restructuring that ultimately placed the entity under a newly formed U.S. corporation. On the relevant date, the entity was a forei…
IRS grants foreign entity late partnership election
A foreign eligible entity became owned by two foreign entities with limited liability before its ownership was transferred directly and indirectly under a newly formed U.S. corporation. Its default fe…
What these documents are
- Private letter rulings (PLRs): A taxpayer asked the IRS to rule on a planned transaction before doing it. The ruling shows exactly how the IRS applied the Code to those facts.
- Technical advice memoranda (TAMs): The IRS National Office answering a question raised during an audit or other proceeding.
- Chief Counsel advice (CCAs): IRS lawyers advising their own field staff on how to apply the law.
- Determination letters: Rulings on exempt-organization matters, such as whether an organization qualifies under § 501(c)(3) or a foundation's grant procedures pass § 4945.
- Not precedent, still useful: Under 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3) none of these can be cited as precedent. They remain the best public window into how the IRS actually rules on facts like yours, and practitioners read them for exactly that.